Firework
by SheeWolf85
Summary: Artistic 15yo Ness meets her 27yo neighbor Jacob who helps her figure herself out and realize that there's nothing wrong with being a little different. AU/AH, J/N, O/S, Rated T for minor adult language.


A/N: Hey, guys! It has come to my attention that I made a mistake in this fic. Renesmee is in tenth grade, yet she gets a diploma . . . I apologize for overlooking the pretty obvious fact that life doesn't happen that way. I have fixed it, so it's not so confusing anymore. The rest of it has stayed the same :)

Anyone reading Give Me a Sign or Blood Moon, I apologize for the lack of updates. I've been experiencing a block on those stories. Hopefully I'll work past it soon and have an update shortly (within the next few weeks).

Trying to get past my block, I found a prompt online about walking into your house and finding it completely different. This oneshot is based on that prompt and the song Firework by Katy Perry. The link for the awesome banner created by Printing Paws is on my profile. Check it out!

This story is rated T for language and some minor stressful situations.

Finally, I don't own any of the characters; they all belong to Stephenie Meyer. Enjoy!

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><p><span>Firework<span>

My feet dragged on the pavement, and I struggled to keep my focus after a huge yawn. My hair and face were damp from sweating so much. I looked up at the bright sky and inwardly cursed the unseasonably warm mid-September sun. Walking to and from high school was bad enough, why did I have to have everything else on top of it? Not only did I have trouble sleeping at night, but I had quizzes, this crazy heat wave, and an awkward social status to deal with. Homework was hell because I either already knew it or couldn't figure out why I needed to know it, but I always got through it and passed my tests. Renesmee Cullen did not get anything below an A minus.

I wrinkled my nose at the song that came on my iPod. I fished it out of my pocket and scanned through my library to find something better as I turned the corner into the apartment complex I called home. I still couldn't find anything I wanted to listen to as I ascended the stairs and went inside.

"Hey, Mom," I said. I shut the door and finally looked up. I froze and stared in astonishment at the entirely unfamiliar room. The set-up was the same: large living room that led to sliding glass doors and a balcony on the left. The dining room and kitchen were on the right along with the hallway that led to the bathroom and bedrooms. There had never been a big-screen TV at my house, though. There had always been a black couch with a white flowery design on it against the left wall. It was gone, and in its place was an enormous dark brown recliner and matching loveseat. There was a desk with a computer against the wall dividing the living room and kitchen. On the glass coffee table that I'd never seen before were five different remotes and a pile of magazines spread out. I noticed Sports Illustrated, Motor Trend, and Weatherwise. My dad had a few of them, but I couldn't remember anyone in my family ever having a climate magazine.

I swallowed and took a few steps in. "Mom?" There was no answer. Had my parents gone crazy while I was at school and bought all new stuff? I set my book bag down next to the wall. The calendar above the computer surprised me even more. It was some model calendar with a half-naked woman soaking wet in a swimming pool. "Hello?" The kitchen table was glass like the coffee table, and I had never seen the plain wrought-iron chairs before in my life.

I wasn't really sure if it was the sound of the shower cutting off and someone moving in the other room or what, but suddenly I realized I wasn't even in my house. Before I could turn around, someone started yelling. A man I didn't recognize came charging into the room wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Dammit, Jane, I told you not to—oh." He stopped short when he saw me. My eyes widened, and my mouth dropped open. It wasn't hard to guess that this was probably his apartment.

"I'm so sorry," I stuttered. "I, um . . . I was so tired walking home, and I guess I didn't pay attention to where I was going . . . Oh, God." I froze up like I usually did in stressful situations. Even though something inside me knew I should leave, I just couldn't stop staring at him. It didn't hurt that he was what I would consider eye candy. Even across the room, it was pretty obvious he was tall. Add on that tanned and muscular with a clearly defined six-pack and I had myself a verified hottie.

"Walked into the wrong house, huh?" He chuckled. "That's happened to me once or twice. Usually only when I was drunk, though." He seemed to relax considerably.

I laughed nervously. "Yeah." I didn't know what to do next.

The guy ran his fingers through his dark, damp hair, causing it to stick up in odd places. He looked undeniably cuter. That tiny detail had somehow made him seem less threatening. "So . . . uh, I should get dressed. And you should probably go home."

I blinked. "Yeah, I should." I turned around and picked up my backpack. "I'm sorry. Again." I all but tripped over my own feet as I turned around and walked out. My heart was beating a million miles an hour as I ran down the steps and chided myself for being so stupid. Who just stands there like that? I should have walked out the instant I realized it wasn't my home. I reached the cement and looked around, trying to figure out where exactly I was. I furrowed my brow as I looked up. I'd made it to the right building, just the wrong floor. That man lived directly underneath me. My cheeks were still flaming as I went slowly back up the stairs, this time making it to the right door.

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><p>I sat on the steps with my chin in my palms and stared down at my sneaker-clad toes on the cement. Saturday meant no school and both my parents were home. They were arguing, which was sadly becoming more and more common. I hated to see or hear it. When it first started a little over three months ago, I usually hid in my room until it was over. I could still hear them, though, so I escaped the house altogether when one or the other would start in on the whole thing.<p>

I sighed and moved my foot to scare a lone ant running in frantic circles. It stopped for a moment, and I imagined what it would feel like to be a dizzy bug. I smiled to myself and watched the ant scurry off toward the grass. It disappeared, and I was alone again. My eyes scanned the concrete, but there was nothing of interest anywhere around.

"Don't look so excited."

I looked up at the oddly familiar voice and saw the man from the apartment below walking toward me. He was dressed in jeans and a black X-Men t-shirt. He lifted his sunglasses to the top of his head and smiled.

"Hey. Did you find your apartment okay the other day?" He smirked.

I couldn't help but smile. "Yeah. I actually live above you." I pointed up as if he wouldn't know which direction I was talking about.

He nodded. "Whatcha doin'?" He sat down next to me like we'd known each other for years.

I swallowed and picked at the ends of my rust-colored hair. "Um, nothing." _Real smooth, Renesmee._

He nodded. "I'm Jacob, by the way." He held out his hand. I took it, and mine all but disappeared in his. "What's your name?"

"Renesmee." I sounded like a mouse.

He chuckled. "That's an interesting name."

I frowned. "Yeah, I know."

"Do you have a nickname? Something less . . . intimidating?"

I'd heard a lot of things about my name. Stupid, annoying, weird, and lame among them. Intimidating was not one of the words that had ever been used to describe it. I shook my head. "No."

He nodded. "You need one." He paused for a moment. "Walked into any random houses lately?" I smirked and shook my head. "You don't say much, do you?"

I'm sure I blushed. "I'm kind of a loner." Outcast was more like it, but whatever. It was the same thing.

He nodded. "So is that why you're sitting out here alone looking all depressed?"

"My dad's home today." I wasn't sure if I wanted to explain everything.

Jacob's eyebrows furrowed. I noticed that he looked cute like that. Cuter, I guess. "You don't want to be around him?"

I realized how I must have sounded. I shook my head quickly. "No, it's not that. I love to be around him. He and my mom argue a lot, though. I don't like to hear it, so I leave the house."

"Oh, I see. Why not go to a friend's house? Or the mall? Something other than sit here?"

I smiled at the look on his face. Like just sitting here was the worst possible thing I could be doing. "I have friends, but they . . . I don't know. They don't understand, and they make assumptions. And I'm not really into shopping, so the mall would be stupid. I like just sitting here and looking at all the things around me. I like imagining what it would be like to be different things."

"All right." He nodded like I'd convinced him that doing this was better than something else. "What do you mean they make assumptions?"

I shrugged. "Just because my parents argue doesn't mean that my dad's abusive or that my mom's an alcoholic. It also doesn't mean that they're going to get divorced. They love each other, and they're both wonderful parents. They're just going through a rough patch."

"You're a pretty smart kid. You know that?"

"Yeah, I know. Straight A's."

He laughed. I wondered why I couldn't get enough of the sound. Or his smile. It was contagious. "I probably should have known. What grade are you in?"

"Tenth."

He cringed. "I remember tenth grade. Bottom of the totem pole."

"Yeah. I've never been very high up, though. I've always been the weird kid."

"So was I. I got made fun of every single day in high school."

I just couldn't see that. Jacob was gorgeous. Not to mention buff. Nobody would dare make fun of him. "Liar." I narrowed my eyes at him.

He shook his head. "No, I'm serious. I was the science nerd that got shoved into lockers and paid to do other students' homework. It wasn't until college that I started to work out and get my shit together."

"What do you do now?"

"I'm a meteorologist." He sounded proud.

"Wow. Are you on the news?" I had to know which channel, because I would watch the new from now on if I got to see him.

He laughed. "No. I've never been on TV and don't plan to be any time soon. I work for the national weather service looking for weather patterns and ways of improving warning systems."

I was impressed. I secretly wondered how many girls in his high school that had made fun of him were gouging their eyes out at their stupidity now. "That sounds cool."

"Yeah, it is. So are you a science geek, too?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm an artsy freak."

"Ah, I see. How old are you?"

"Fifteen. I got pushed ahead a year when I was in fifth grade because I was too smart for what the teachers were trying to get us to learn." It wasn't something I was proud of. It only made me stand out more, which drew more of the attention I hated.

"That's impressive."

I shifted, stretching my legs out in front of me. "Not really. I mean, it just made people taunt me more."

He put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't let 'em get to you. One day, those idiots will be begging to take you out, and you'll have all the power."

I snorted. "Yeah, right."

"I mean it. Geeks and nerds almost always—" He was cut off by his cell phone ringing in his pocket. He stood up and frowned at it. "I gotta take this. I'll see you later, Renesmee."

I waved as he passed by me, walking up the stairs and answering his phone while he unlocked his door. I looked at my watch. I'd been outside a little over two hours. My parents should be done arguing for now. I got up and brushed my pants off before going to check on them.

* * *

><p>I laid in bed Saturday night thinking about what Jacob had said. I always had a hard time sleeping, but it was even worse when I had something on my mind. There was an image mixed in with all the words. I kept rolling it around with everything, trying to let it shape itself and become clearer. I had a feeling I knew what he was going to say before his phone cut him off. It was probably something about how geeks and nerds always end up rich and highly desired. I couldn't really see myself in that position.<p>

The details of the image started to shine through the clatter in my head. I got up, turned on my light, and grabbed my sketch pad and colored pencils. Then I sat cross-legged on my bed and began to draw. In my mind, there was an incoming storm behind him. He had beautiful sepia eyes flecked with gold and the most luscious black hair that seemed to stick up everywhere. A strong jaw line and a dimple in his chin. I liked the way his Adam's apple moved when he spoke, too. I drew him with a shirt on, but I couldn't deny that I liked the size of his arms. Once I finished outlining all the details, I started to color it in. I didn't really have any way of knowing if he had always been tan like that, or if he had to work to maintain it. I kind of wanted to know, though.

The sun was up by the time I was done. I was happy with it. I smiled at it and tucked it away in my portfolio, then I stretched and thought about laying down. Before I could make a decision, my mom knocked on the door and reminded me that it was Sunday; we had to go to church. I grumbled internally and just got up to take a shower. We weren't avid church-goers, but every now and then Mom got a wild hair and had to go.

We went to lunch at a buffet after church. It had become something of a tradition after Dad started his new job that worked him six days a week, whether we went to service or not. It had been wonderful at first; just Mom and me all the time. I missed my dad, though. He was always fun and willing to take me for piggy-back rides when I was younger. He was an accountant for a private firm, and with all the new responsibilities of his new job, he got sucked in and overwhelmed trying to do everything. It didn't take him long to get the hang of it, though, and after a few months things were good again. His job and the minimal time it gave him with his family was one of the things that my parents argued about. Mom wanted him around more, and he wanted to keep us in the easy lifestyle we had. He didn't want Mom to have to start working just so he could take it easy more often.

While we were eating, Mom chattered on about my cousin Alice who had just gotten accepted to Stanford University. I listened and inwardly dismissed everything she said about me following in her footsteps after high school. I wanted to go to the Art Institute of Portland and stretch my creative wings.

"So how has school been, honey?" she asked. "I've been talking about me and your cousin; let's talk about you."

I hated it when she said that. I never had anything interesting to say. I shrugged. "School's okay, I guess. Normal stuff."

She nodded. "Made any new friends?"

"No." The friends I'd left ninth grade with were the only ones I had. I preferred it that way; that small group of genuine friends was much better than a large group of people who only wanted to stab me in the back. Some days, though, I wished I could be the popular girl that everyone loved.

"Well, it is the beginning of the year at a new school. Maybe it will just take time." She smiled encouragingly. I didn't bother to remind her that I'd been in school for three weeks. "What about things outside of school? Anything interesting happening in the world of Renesmee?"

I speared a few peas, making a line on my fork. I wondered briefly what it would be like to be a pea. Stuck next to someone you may or may not like from birth until the moment you're dragged out of your house and boiled to tasty perfection. Seemed like a pretty sad existence, actually. I scooped up some mashed potatoes and ate the vegetables together.

"Not really," I said after I swallowed. "I met the downstairs neighbor."

"Oh? The one below us that moved in last month?"

I nodded. "Yeah. His name is Jacob, and he's a meteorologist." I left out the part about how I may or may not have a slight obsessive crush on him already.

"How fun. I wonder what channel he's on. I've seen him around from time to time. He's kind of cute, don't you think?"

I'm sure I blushed a deep shade of carmine. "Yeah. He's not on TV, though."

Mom took a drink and cocked her head to the side. I thought she looked funny with her cocoa hair falling away from face like that. I wanted to draw it. I filed the image away for later. "How do you know?" she asked curiously.

"I talked to him for a few minutes yesterday. He said he works for the national weather service."

Her eyebrows raised appreciatively. "Oh, well that sounds nice." It sure did.

We finished lunch and went home. I spent the rest of the day in my room drawing my mother and her hair as she looked at me in the restaurant.

The next few days were boring. The only highlight was briefly talking to Jacob again Tuesday night when I went for a walk. I learned that he was twenty-seven years old. Wednesday after school, I had a lot of studying to do. I didn't like to do it in my room because I was always tempted to draw instead. I set up my textbook and notes on the dining room table, got a drink and a bag of chips, and got to work. Dad came home at six-thirty, a little later than usual, and kissed my head.

"How's school going, sweetheart?"

I looked up at him and nodded. "It's going pretty good. I have a test tomorrow in biology." I gestured to my books.

"Well good luck, then. Let me know if you need any help."

I smiled. "Okay." I thought about warning him not to go into the kitchen, but I decided against it. It wasn't my place, and he probably already knew Mom had been in there grumbling about how late he always was.

Sure enough, almost as soon as I heard him kiss her, she asked what took him so long. His sigh was heavy. I stayed at the table for as long as I could, but their biting remarks got to me. I finally gave up and went to my room. I sat on the bed with my books around me, but my attention kept drifting to the voices in the hallway. It was when I caught myself drawing my parents as dogs trying to rip each others' throats out that I decided I needed to leave the house. There wasn't a lot of traffic around this building; I could probably study just fine on the steps. I made my decision and packed up what I needed. They were back in the kitchen arguing over what a family needed.

I cleared my throat. "Mom? Dad? I'm going to study outside."

Neither of them acknowledged me. I felt invisible as I walked out. I went down by Jacob's door and set things up again on the steps. I sighed and went back a few paragraphs so I could make sure I understood everything I'd read in my room. A few minutes later, I started to get twitchy. I wanted my chips and drink, but I didn't want to go back inside to get them. I sighed and turned on the step, smacking my knee against the wall. I furrowed my brow at myself and pulled the textbook onto my lap. This was getting me nowhere.

I looked up in surprise when Jacob's door opened. He looked out curiously and smiled at me.

"Hey. What're you doing?"

I gestured to my book. "Studying. I have a test tomorrow."

"Oh. Did you hit the wall?"

"Yeah, I did. I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Why are you studying on the steps of all places? Isn't it cooler in the house?"

I nodded. "Yeah. It's a lot cooler, and I left my chips and lemonade on the table. My parents are arguing again, and I just can't focus with that going on."

Jacob frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that. You want to come in?"

I smiled to myself. "Sure." I closed my book and got up. "Thank you."

He shut the door behind us, and I set my stuff down on the table. The whole place smelled like roasted pig, and my mouth watered. "Yeah, sure. You want something to drink?"

"Do you have any lemonade?"

He pursed his lips. "Ye—well, none that you could have. It's alcoholic. I have milk. Or water."

I smiled at the prospect of drinking something with alcohol. I'd tasted it once or twice at family get-togethers, but of course I was never allowed to have my own drink. "Milk would be great."

"Okay. You hungry?"

"Are you offering to feed me?"

He chuckled and walked to the kitchen. I followed him. "I can't bring a stranded, starving kid into my house and not feed her. I've got pork chops in the oven. They're almost done; you could have some of that if you want."

"That's really nice of you, but I can't take your dinner."

"You're not. I usually make enough for a few nights just so I don't have to cook again for a while. It's not my thing." He scrunched his nose, and it was beautiful.

I laughed. "Oh, okay. In that case, I would really like some. Thank you."

He nodded. "Sure. You go study." He handed me the glass of milk, and I took it with me.

Ten minutes later, Jacob came to the table with two plates and gave me a huge pork chop. "What are you studying?"

"Biology. We haven't even gotten through this chapter all the way yet, and the teacher said there's going to be a test on it tomorrow. He's really stupid, though." I wasn't even sure the test would happen, but I had to be prepared just in case.

"That sucks."

We were both quiet for a while as we ate and I read. When we were finished, I insisted that I help Jacob clean up. I washed the dishes while he rinsed and dried them.

"I heard a weather joke today," I said as I washed a plate.

Jacob smiled. "Okay. Let's hear it."

I looked down at the soap on my hands, blushing like a fool. "What's worse than raining buckets?"

"I give. What?"

"Hailing taxis."

He chuckled. "That's cute. Why was the art dealer in debt?"

I cocked my head to the side. "I don't know. Why?"

"Because he had no Monet."

I snorted. "Boo."

"Like yours was much better. I heard that art one in college. What's the difference between weather and climate?"

I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. "I have no idea."

"You can't weather a tree, but you can climate." He raised his eyebrows and took the clean plate from my hands.

I started on the silverware. "Fred imagined himself a brilliant artist, but his teacher said he was so bad it was a wonder he could even draw breath."

"There was a communist named Rudolph. One day he looked out the window and said, 'It looks like a storm is coming.' His wife asked how he knew. He responded, 'Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear.'"

I laughed out loud at that. "That was a good one. An artist decided to buy a new easel, but he wasn't sure what type to get. At the art shop they offered him two, a big one and a small one. He thought for a while and finally decided on the lesser of two easels."

He laughed. I loved being able to make him smile. "What did the hurricane say to the other hurricane?"

I shrugged. "What?"

"I've got my eye on you." He pointed to his eye and stared at me.

I snorted. We finished with the dishes and went back to the kitchen table. "The Mona Lisa was brought up in court for charges of murder. Turns out she was framed."

"Poor Mona. No wonder she doesn't smile."

"She does too. Just because she doesn't go around grinning like she won the lottery. It's a subtle, mysterious smile."

He raised a doubtful eyebrow. "Oh, okay. Sure." He looked up at a knock on the door. "Just a sec."

I sighed with a sort of love-struck peacefulness as I watched him walk to the door. I knew my feelings would go absolutely nowhere—I was way too young and he was closing in on thirty—but I couldn't help it. He was nice, funny, really hot, and he gave me food. What was not to like?

Jacob came back with a blonde woman in a cobalt tank top and white capris. "Oh," she said with a bubble-gum voice. "You didn't tell me you had company, Jake."

"This is my neighbor, Renesmee. She's studying. Renesmee, this is Jane. Sort of a friend." He gestured to her, and the look on his face made it seem like he would do anything to get rid of her.

She scowled at him. "I am a friend. A very good friend." She raised her eyebrows, and I got it. Ew.

"I can leave," I said quickly. I really did not want to be in Jacob's house if . . . I picked up my books.

"You don't have to," Jacob said a little louder than he probably needed to. I stopped in my tracks and looked up at him. "She's not staying long."

I was going to say that I needed to get home anyway, but it looked like he was pleading with me. I nodded and set everything back down. "Okay." I opened the book to a random page and just started to read.

Jacob and Jane went to the kitchen. "So are we going to do this with a kid in the house, Jake?" I heard her ask. I cringed.

"Just get the goddamn bottles and get out." I guessed Jacob wasn't as ready for a sexual encounter as she was. It was then that I remembered he had said her name when I first came into his apartment by accident.

"You're going to regret this." Her voice was dripping with venom. I imagined her as a snake, trying to wound with her bite.

"Fuck off, Jane." His voice was hushed like he didn't want me to hear him cuss. I smiled to myself. I heard a few more hushed comments before she walked briskly to the door. It slammed behind her. Jacob sat beside me at the table again and smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry."

I shrugged. "It's okay. Is she your girlfriend?" I couldn't even say why I asked.

"Hell no. Thank God. I know her through a friend at work. We've, uh . . . I mean . . ." he furrowed his brow like he wasn't sure how to say something.

I smiled. "I know what a fling is, Jacob."

I swear he blushed. "Yeah, well, I don't want to just come out and say it in front of a kid."

I frowned. "I'm not a kid."

"You're fifteen, I'm twenty-seven. You're a kid to me. Nothing you can do about it."

He had a point. "Yeah, but still. So you had a fling with Jane, and what? She doesn't want to let you go?"

Jacob cringed. "No, she doesn't. She's a nightmare."

"Sounded like it. Is that why you wanted me to stay?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I just knew if you were here, she couldn't get too pushy." He looked a little uncertain.

"Don't worry about it. Glad I could help." I turned the pages of my textbook, getting back to the chapter I was supposed to be reading. "I should finish this."

He nodded. "Yeah. Get that done."

I finished reading the chapter, then went over my notes and answered the questions at the end. Jacob was on the chair in the living room typing something with a laptop sitting on his crossed legs. I smiled; he was even cute like that. "I'm done."

He looked up from the screen and smiled at me. "Good luck on your test tomorrow."

"Thank you. I better get home now. Thanks for dinner, too."

"Sure. See you later."

He didn't get up, but I didn't mind. I let myself out and went upstairs to my house. Dad was sitting on the couch with a bunch of papers strewn around him. He looked up at me when I shut the door.

"Where've you been?" he asked curiously.

I shrugged. "I went to study outside earlier, and the neighbor invited me in since it's so hot out."

Mom came around the corner as I was talking. "The downstairs neighbor?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. He fed me, too, so I'm not hungry. I got the whole chapter read, though, and I'm pretty sure I'm ready for the test tomorrow."

Mom and Dad shared a look. I couldn't be sure, but it seemed concerned. "That was nice of him," Dad said. "We should invite him over sometime."

I got the hidden message. 'Bring him over so we can make sure he's legit.' I wanted to roll my eyes, but I didn't. It probably shouldn't have surprised me that they'd want to check him out. "I'm sure he'd be okay with that."

I escaped to my room and got my bag ready for school the next day, then I spent the following few hours drawing Jane as a cobalt python poised to strike.

* * *

><p>As it turned out, we didn't have a test in biology. I was frustrated while some of the other students were relived. I'd done my work, though. For nothing, apparently. Instead, our class time was to be spent reading the chapter. I rolled my eyes and got out my sketch pad. While everyone else was reading, I drew the teacher. He was short with a pear-shaped figure and a receding hairline. He almost always dressed in a light blue button-up with black slacks. I drew him with crossed eyes and a dumfounded expression. When the bell rang, I tucked everything away in my bag and left the room.<p>

During lunch, I sat with my normal group of friends in the hallway. They chatted on and on about an upcoming concert and asked if I was going. Of course I wasn't; I didn't even like Puddle of Mudd. Griffin, my best friend, scooted closer to my side.

"Nice test we had today, huh?" she asked. She'd been my friend for years. We bonded so well at first because we both got teased about our names.

I snorted. "Yeah; it was epic. I drew Mr. Granger."

She grinned. "Can I see?"

I got my sketch pad out and showed her the drawing. "It's not done yet, of course. I still need to finish some details on his face and color him in."

She laughed. "That's awesome. He kinda looks like a duck."

I hadn't thought of that, but she was kind of right. His lips were too big for his face, and I had accentuated them in the caricature. "I can see it." Ideas began forming, and I couldn't wait until I got home so I could work on it.

I went home that day excited. Mom got to me before I could lock myself in my room.

"How was your day, honey?" she asked.

I shrugged. "It was okay. The test was a no show, though. How about you?"

"It was pretty good. I talked to Jacob a few minutes this morning. He's going to come by for dinner on Saturday."

"That's great, Mom. I should probably get to my homework." I didn't have any, but I knew she wouldn't keep my longer with that excuse.

"Oh, sure. Go on. Love you, honey."

I nodded. "Love you, too, Mom." I went right back to my room and started immediately on Mr. Granger as a duck.

* * *

><p>Saturday afternoon was spent cleaning up the house with my mom in preparation for our dinner guest. Dad was home, but he was lounging on the couch watching TV. I noticed my mom give him a dirty look every now and then, but she didn't say anything. I almost wanted to roll my eyes and tell her to just get it over with. I didn't want them to argue about this later, and I knew they would. I could almost see the situation from both of their points of view, though. Mom was frustrated that Dad wasn't doing anything, and Dad was happy to finally having a moment to relax after a really long week of work. It wasn't like there was a lot to do anyway.<p>

After the house was spotless, Mom and I decided what we were going to make. After searching through ten recipes, we finally settled on what Mom called "Company Chicken." Jacob was due to arrive at six o'clock, so we got everything ready and in the oven at five-fifteen.

Jacob showed up right on time. Dinner was awkward nonetheless. Mom kept making weird comments about how she was alone during the day, and Dad looked at her suspiciously. Jacob answered all of Mom's questions about his job. I could almost see his uneasiness when Dad chimed in about how busy Jacob must be all the time and his willingness to let a fifteen-year-old girl into his home. He was cool about it, though; he said he would want someone to do the same for him.

I wasn't stupid. This dinner was just going to end up adding fuel to the fire between my parents. I wanted to get through it as quickly as possible.

When there was a slight break in my parents' near-constant talk, Jacob turned to me.

"How've you been?" he asked me. "Have you drawn anything good lately?"

I cleared my throat and thought about hiding. My dad didn't approve of my . . . artistic vision. I answered Jacob anyway. "I drew my Biology teacher as a duck."

Dad scowled. "That is very disrespectful, Renesmee. You know better."

I frowned at my plate. Of course I knew better. That was half the fun.

Jacob laughed, though. "That sounds interesting. Maybe I can see it sometime?"

I smiled and nodded. "Sure."

"Please don't encourage her, Jacob," Dad said, exasperated. This was yet another thing my parents argued about. Mom thought it was creative; Dad thought it was a waste of time.

"Why not?"

My eyes widened. People didn't usually challenge my dad like that. He put his fork down and looked at Jacob squarely in the face. "Because she's my daughter, and I said so."

Jacob snorted. "I'm sorry, but that's a stupid excuse. If she's good at it, it _should_ be encouraged."

Mom beamed, and I couldn't help but smile. Dad sighed. "Don't forget that you were invited into our home, Jacob. I can ask you to leave just as easily."

Sure, Dad decided on now to be a jerk. I had hoped he'd be the nice guy I knew him to be, but I guessed it was a little too much to hope for. The rest of dinner was silent, and Jacob didn't linger afterward. He was polite and said goodbye to everyone, even shook Dad's hand, but he still seemed eager to get out.

That night, my parents went from arguing to full-out fighting. I was so mad at both of them. I listened to them yelling at each other, throwing accusations around like missiles, and drew something I never thought I'd draw. They were both to blame. Both of their faces were crimson, both of their expressions were enraged with flames coming from their mouths, and they both held a dagger of lies to the other's throat. My hands were shaking and tears fell from my eyes, making the image turn out less detailed and precise than normal.

They were finished before I was, but not by much. The house was finally quiet, and it matched the growing resentment in my chest. I tried to go to sleep once the picture was done, but I only ended up with a few hours. Sunday morning, Mom was in a terrible mood. She either snapped at me or ignored me when I tried to talk to her. I decided it would be best to just stay away from her. I gathered up my portfolio—every picture I'd ever drawn except for the ones that were crappy or unfinished and the one I'd done the night before—and headed down to see if Jacob was home.

My heart was in my throat as I knocked on the door. He answered in a pair of light blue sweat pants and a plain white t-shirt. "Hey, Ness," he said, taking a step back. "Come on in."

I raised an eyebrow as I walked in. "Ness?"

He shrugged. "It's a nickname. Whatcha got?" He gestured to the folder in my hands.

I swallowed. I'd only ever shown my drawings to my parents and a few select friends at school, and even then it was only the really good ones. I'd brought everything to hopefully spend a few hours going through everything. I didn't want to go back home. I held the folder out to him. "My pictures. You said you wanted to see them sometime, so I brought them."

"Cool. Can I?" He started to open it but paused and looked at me.

"Yeah, sure. Go ahead."

He smiled and went to the couch. I sat next to him as he spread the papers out. "Wow. There's quite a few here."

"I draw a lot." I wasn't sure if I was embarrassed about that or not.

He picked up the one of Mr. Granger as a duck. "Is this your Biology teacher?"

"Yeah."

Jacob chuckled. "That's amazing, Ness. You really are a great artist. I love the lips-slash-beak."

"He has big lips anyway. When he's deep in thought, he pushes them out like this." I showed him, quirking my lips and pushing them out. He laughed again. "I never really saw him as a duck until I drew him on Thursday when we were supposed to have our test—that never happened, by the way—and my friend said that."

"It works. What else have you got here?" He laughed at a few of them and stopped at the one I'd done of Natalee. Natalee Hudson was like the queen bee of my grade and somehow always made it a point to put me and my friends down. "I take it you don't like this girl?"

I shook my head. "No. She's evil." She had big teeth to begin with, and I just accentuated that fact. It was my way of making fun of her in return. I'd done several of her and the other popular kids that felt they needed to make my life miserable. I might have a funny name, but at least I didn't have abnormally large ears or other weird physical features. I had a small nose, though, and I just couldn't help but draw myself on occasion. He picked one of them up and smirked.

"You don't like your nose much, do you? Or your eyebrows." He held the picture up by my face and nodded. "Perfect resemblance."

I pushed his shoulder. "Knock it off. And my eyebrows are stupid." I'd made them far apart and too thin in the picture because I'd done a terrible job plucking before I drew it.

"Oh. Well, in that case, you need to go study something." He flipped through more pictures and pushed on my back like he really meant it. I pushed him back, and he just laughed.

He stopped almost immediately when he found the one I'd done of him. I'd forgotten it was in there. My face was instantly on fire, and I thought about snatching it out of his hands. Instead of making it awkward, though, he hugged my shoulders. "You drew me like one of your French girls. I'm honored."

I snorted. "You're a dork."

"Yeah, I know. Can I get a copy of this?"

"Are you serious?" I raised my eyebrow.

He nodded. "Of course I am. I've never had a caricature of myself. And besides, this is excellent. I want to brag to all my friends that I'm living in the same building as a soon-to-be world-famous artist."

His words made me feel all warm inside. "In that case, yes. I'll make a copy of it and bring it to you."

"I have a copier. Would you mind if I just did it here?"

"Oh. Yeah, that's fine."

He got up and went to the computer against the wall. I watched him as he fired everything up and scanned the image. I wondered briefly what it would be like if there were little people in the machine making it work. I imagined them frantically trying to recreate the image. I laughed at myself, and Jacob turned around to look at me.

"What?"

I shook my head. "Nothing." He just stared at me, though, and I thought that maybe he wouldn't think I was crazy if I told him what I'd imagined. So I told him.

He chuckled. "They damn well better get it right."

I smiled and warmed up even more. "They're professionals; don't worry."

"Oh. Well, in that case, I'll trust them." He printed the image once it was done scanning and came back with both the original and the copy. "I'll get a frame for this tomorrow. Do you have any of your other work framed?" He gave me the one I'd drawn and set the copy down on the other end of the coffee table by his magazines.

"No. My mom has bought a few frames for me, but my dad doesn't like to see the pictures hung up anywhere. It's just easier to keep them all hidden."

Jacob pursed his lips. "Let me ask you something, Ness. How many artists—well, not just artists; any profession, I guess—do you think would have gotten anywhere if they hid their talent just because someone didn't like it or thought it was a waste of time?"

I saw his point, but it was still scary. "Probably none."

"Exactly. Just don't listen to him, okay? Keep doing what you're doing and eventually you'll find a way to make it work for you. Have you ever thought about selling anything? Like at an auction or online?"

"No; I've never thought anyone would actually want them."

A smile spread across his lips. "I know quite a few people who would buy something like this. I'm not saying you should sell; that should be something you decide on your own. I'm just saying you should consider it. Have you ever tried drawing celebrities?"

I scrunched my nose. "Yeah, I've tried, but I don't like it. They're overdone, anyway."

He agreed with me. He flipped through a few more pictures and found the one I'd done of Jane. He laughed out loud and hugged my shoulders again. "This is perfect," he said with a grin. "Can I copy this one, too?"

I happily gave him permission. I loved that he liked them so much. When he came back to the couch, I cleared my throat. "I wanted to say sorry . . . about yesterday. My dad's not usually an ass like that."

Jacob smiled and patted my shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I'm not upset."

"Good."

Eventually, I had to run out of time and go home. Jacob gave me a hug and told me to keep my chin up. Everything would turn out okay.

Over the following weeks, things between my parents just kept getting worse and worse. They were fighting more often than not. It wasn't the somewhat-controlled arguments with a few stinging words anymore, though. It was yelling and crying and accusing the other person of crimes no relationship could survive. It made me wonder if my friends actually had something when they told me my parents were going to get divorced. Griffin's parents had separated when she was younger, and she had told me how they fought before it happened. She had been five years old at the time, and often spent her time with her blankets over her head trying to block out their voices. I found myself doing the same some nights.

As much as I didn't want to get in between them, I didn't want them to keep hurting each other, and I didn't want to see them split. I really liked having both of my parents around. Even if Dad was gone a lot of the time for work, I still knew he'd come home at the end of the day, and he'd be there on Saturdays.

Both of them started to get crabbier toward me. Mom usually made sure I had something for breakfast before I left for school in the mornings. One Monday, there was nothing on the table for me when I got to the kitchen.

"Mom?" I asked. She was in her room and just hollered back at me. "Where's breakfast?"

"You want something, get it yourself," she called back.

I furrowed my brow and dug around until I found some pop tarts. It was unusual, and I told myself she was just having an off day. A case of the Mondays, or something like that. It happened again the next day, though. And again on Friday. I was so confused. Both Mom and Dad had made it a point to tell me several times that their fights and ugly feelings had nothing to do with me, but I began to wonder. Even Dad got short with me on things that he was normally patient with. I asked him for help with my math homework one Saturday, and at first he seemed eager to help. Halfway through, he started to get impatient, though. When something didn't click the first time, he'd give me this look like he was wondering what was wrong with me. Why wasn't it just easy as pie for me to understand and comprehend everything in the book the first time I read it? I hurried to finish up the problems and hid in my room for most of the day.

I still saw Jacob on the steps two to three times a week and went to spend time with him every other week or so. He was always welcoming, and had laughed when he told me the drawing I'd made of Jane had pissed her off enough to make her stop coming around. I was glad to know that I'd helped him somehow. He still asked me how the art was coming along, and I'd show him new things whenever I completed them. I met a few of his friends one Saturday and ended up drawing them together as a group. They were too funny together. They might have had families and full time jobs—two even had children—but none of them acted very mature when they were together. Seth, a man of twenty-four years with light brown hair and steel blue eyes who worked with Jacob, asked me to draw just him. I did, and found it was actually pretty easy to do a request like that. I'd never had one before. He gave me ten dollars for the picture, even though I told him several times he didn't need to pay me at all.

Halloween rolled around, and my friends and I gathered together in my living room after scouring Griffin's and McKenzie's neighborhoods. I was dressed as a pixie, Griffin was a punk rocker, McKenzie was Cleopatra, and Trisha was a zombie. Together we went around my apartment complex. As much as I wanted to linger at Jacob's, we couldn't. My parents expected me home before midnight, and we had a lot of ground to cover. Jacob hadn't dressed up, but he had put up a few decorations.

More weeks passed, and I really began to wonder if I wasn't a central part of my parents' fighting. The things they had fought about before—accusations and uncertainty—had all but faded into bringing up things from the past that should have been long forgotten. I heard my name shouted a lot between the two. It was either things that happened when I was young or the support versus lack of support each parent offered. Four days before Thanksgiving, I'd had enough of it.

Once again, they were firing long-buried ammunition at each other. I sat on my bed, trying to study for the test before the break. I was not looking forward to having the upcoming days off. It meant my dad would be home as well, and that only meant more fights. I finally gave up, slammed my book shut and tossed it aside, then I stormed out to the living room where the battle was taking place.

"This is ridiculous!" I shouted. Both of them stopped and stared at me. "I mean, you guys _are_ adults, right? What the hell happened to 'forgive and forget?' I don't recall ever getting the lesson about 'pretend it's forgiven and bring it up ten years later.' For the past hour, I've been in my room trying to study, and all I hear is you guys yelling at each other."

They looked at each other then back at me, and I realized that I had probably picked the worst time to interrupt them. They were both angry and tired, and it probably didn't even matter to either of them who they were yelling at. Dad was the first one to speak.

"Renesmee, it's not your concern what I talk to your mother about."

I was upset, too, though. "You're not even talking to her! Can't you tell the difference between yelling and talking?" They sure as hell could when I was little. I pushed that aside; I couldn't bring up the past when I wanted them to stop doing the same thing.

"See?" Mom said with a huff. "I told you that you were yelling at me, and you just refuse to admit it because you're so perfect."

"Like you weren't doing it, too, Mom. Both of you should knock it off."

"Regardless of who was yelling or talking, you don't need to be getting in between this. Go back to your room and finish studying." Dad waved his hand like he was dismissing a servant.

"No." I said plainly. I straightened my back. "I won't go back there when you can't even be civil enough to respect that I am trying to pass a damn test."

"Do not talk to your father like that, young lady," Mom fired back.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, like you're so much better. Do either of you even care if I get good grades? Because so far this year has been hell trying to get my homework done. The only time I feel like I actually learn something when I'm not in class is when I'm at Jacob's."

"Get out of here," Dad said venomously. "Go back to your room right now."

My bottom lip trembled. "I don't want to go back to my room."

"Do it anyway." They both shouted the same thing at the same time. Apparently my involvement got them together again. I just hated that it was against me.

I wasn't going to go back there and listen to them anymore. "No!" Instead of doing what they said, I went to the front door. "I'm going for a walk. Don't expect me to be home anytime soon." I walked out and slammed the door behind me.

I didn't know where I was going to go, but before I knew what I was doing, I found myself knocking on Jacob's door. I wasn't even sure he'd be home. It was after seven o'clock, so he six o'clock, so he should be. The door opened, and I didn't even think twice before I shoved myself against his chest.

"Ness?" he asked, surprised. "What's the matter?"

I shook my head. "They won't stop," I cried. "Day or night, whenever they get together, it's nothing but fighting. I can't listen to it anymore."

He pulled me back with him and shut the door. "Calm down, Ness. It'll be okay."

"No, it won't be. They're using me to destroy each other, and I can't take it. I almost wish they'd just split up and get it over with." I hated the words as I said them. I didn't want them to break up. I looked up and saw a black-haired woman sitting on the couch looking at Jacob's magazines. I sniffled and moved back a few steps. "I'm sorry. Now's probably a bad time." My face flamed as I thought of interrupting Jacob's date.

"No, Ness, you're fine. This is Leah, she's Seth's sister. She's just visiting for a bit. You're welcome to stay." He turned to Leah. "This is my upstairs neighbor, Renesmee. She's the one that drew that picture of Seth. Her parents are having a rough time."

She gave me a sympathetic coo. "I'm sorry to hear that, honey. Everything okay?"

My tears resurfaced, and I shook my head. "I don't know."

Jacob rubbed my back. "We were going to watch a movie, I think. You want to watch one with us?"

"That would actually be great. Thank you."

Leah sat in the recliner, and Jake and I sat next to each other on the couch. It was a little awkward at first, but it only lasted through the first fifteen minutes of _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_. Once everyone got into the movie, the atmosphere became much more relaxed and friendly. By the end, I had leaned over and rested my head against his shoulder. It was nice knowing I had a friend who wouldn't criticize me for something or tell me horror stories about their parents' breakup.

I stayed and talked about the movie and other stuff for a while. Leah was just as awesome as Jacob, and she made me laugh several times. Her features were tanned and elegant, like an exotic queen. I loved the color of her eyes. They were the most beautiful multi-faceted aquamarine I'd ever seen. She had a friend who often had trouble sleeping as well and suggested that I try taking melatonin to help. I finally went home after ten o'clock. Both my mom and my dad were sitting on the couch when I walked in. I didn't even want to hear a single word about how what I'd done was disrespectful and rude, so I just headed straight back toward my room.

"Renesmee." My dad's voice stopped me. I cringed and turned slowly to look at them. "Would you come sit down for a minute? Your mother and I would like to talk to you."

Dread filled my entire body. I could only imagine divorce decrees and separation and, worst of all, having to decide which parent I wanted to live with. I just couldn't choose between them. I swallowed thickly and went to sit down between my parents. My mom took my hand, and my dad patted my shoulder.

"Honey," Mom started. She hesitated for a moment, and Mom and Dad looked at each other. "We want to say that we're sorry. What happened earlier was a really bad situation."

"Both of us love you very much," Dad said. "We never wanted to hurt you. I'm sorry that I tried to treat you like a child, and also that we kept you from studying."

I nodded and waited for the real storm to hit.

"Are you okay, honey?" Mom asked. "I know we hurt you. We want you to know that no matter what is going on between us, you can always come to either of us."

They had done a really poor job of showing it, but I knew it would only make the situation worse if I said that. "I'm okay," I told them. "I'm . . . hurt. I can't deny that. But I love you guys, too, and I forgive you both. I went down to Jacob's, and we watched a movie and talked for a while. His friend Leah was there, too."

Dad seemed a little more at ease about the thought of me going down to Jacob's when there was another person there. We sat on the couch and talked about several things, including my parents' eroding relationship. They promised me that they weren't even considering the possibility of separation or divorce, and I felt a little better by the time I went to bed.

Of course I couldn't sleep much. I got a few hours in, like usual, but I woke up at two o'clock. I was wide awake, so I read the chapter I'd been studying before, did the questions, then drew a picture of Leah. She was so beautiful in a sort of unconventional way. She had strong features with a square face, wide-set hooded eyes, large lips, and a sort of flattened nose. She didn't look much like Seth, and it made me wonder if they were really blood related. Her gaze could be imposing, but once I got past that, she was so friendly.

I somehow managed to pass all the tests before the Thanksgiving break. We spent the holiday at my grandparents' house with all of my family around. It was nice to see some faces I didn't get to be around very much. My parents managed to put their differences aside and make it a peaceful break. I didn't want to go back to school the next week, but of course I had to.

I showed Jacob the new drawings I'd done over the break and the one of Leah. He wanted to make two copies of that one; one for himself and one for Leah.

"You know, you could probably start up your own little business," he told me as he sat at the computer scanning the images.

I smirked. "Yeah, I could sell the ones of the rotten students at school."

"You should. You can't be the only one who could benefit from seeing all their flaws pointed out so mercilessly like that."

I liked the way he put that. I was merciless. "I'll think about it."

After a few days of thought and drawing a few different interpretations of Queen Bee and Jock Strap, I decided I wanted to do what Jacob had suggested. I didn't want to just set up a booth at school, though. That would probably get me beat up or something. So instead, I went to the online universe. Jacob helped me set up a free website and let me use his scanner to get all the pictures I wanted to sell up. He showed me how everything worked. I had to set up another account with PayPal so I could collect the money for the ones that were sold. I priced all of them at five dollars per piece.

I didn't really expect much; maybe one or two sales, if that. I told my friends about the site, and I guess they must have spread the word, too, because within two weeks, I'd sold fifteen pictures. Most of them were of Queen Bee. The melatonin Leah had suggested actually helped a great deal, and for the first time in a long while, I was actually able to sleep through the night. By the time Christmas rolled around, I had made enough money to actually buy a domain for a year. I was really proud of myself, and Jacob took almost every opportunity to say he'd told me so. I was nervous to tell my parents about it, though. I knew my mom would back me up, but she'd tell my dad, and it would probably start the fights all over again. There had been peace in my house for the first time in what felt like months; I didn't want to push it.

My parents and I spent Christmas Eve at my grandparents' house again, then we had our own little family thing on Christmas morning. That night I went to see if Jacob was home. I'd bought him a little present, and I was excited to give it to him. It wasn't much, and he'd probably laugh at me, but I was still proud that I'd bought it with the money from my sales.

"Hey, Ness. Merry Christmas. Come on in." He stepped back and let me in.

"Why aren't you with family?" I asked.

He shrugged. "We did our thing earlier today. What about you?"

We sat down on the couch, and I put his wrapped gift on the coffee table. I told him what I'd done for the holiday, then pointed to the box. "That's for you."

His smile was huge. "You got me something?"

"Of course I did. I got something for all of my best friends. All four of you." I laughed.

He got up. "I got you something, too. Hold on a second."

My heart warmed as he left the room. I was shocked when he came back with a huge box. "It's not as big as it looks, I promise. It's a few smaller things in one bigger box."

He gave it to me, and I made him open his first. I'd found it at the mall and couldn't pass it up. It was a Galileo weather ball with both the ball and a thermometer.

"Aw, Ness, that's awesome. Thanks." He hugged me.

"Do you have one already?"

He shook his head. "Actually, no. I had one similar in college, but it broke a long time ago. Now open yours."

He seemed antsy. It only made me more excited to see what was in the box. I ripped open the wrapping paper and dug into the box. I was surprised at how many smaller things there were. I set everything out on the coffee table as I fished it out. Jacob had gotten me a set of eighty-four colored pencils, six blending stumps, eight erasers, a set of twenty-four graphic pencils, two pencil sharpeners, and five sketch pads. I couldn't really believe I was seeing everything in front of me. I had relied on Crayola and whatever I could find at the department store to feed my crazy addiction. Everything Jacob had gotten was top of the line and meant for a true artist. This was . . . incredible.

"Thank you so much, Jacob." Tears were in my eyes as I leaned over and hugged him tightly.

"You're so welcome."

I had to test out my new supplies, so I spent a few hours on Jacob's recliner drawing him and his weather ball. He took it outside and around the house, laughing as he made a joke about taking it to work. "This is probably more reliable than some of the shit they have me working with anyway." I just smiled and kept sketching.

I wasn't able to finish it before it was time to go home. I promised him I'd bring it back and show him the final product as soon as it was done, though. He helped me put everything back in the box, and I lugged it upstairs. I was so excited to show my parents everything I'd gotten.

"What's that?" Dad asked when I went inside.

I beamed and set the box down. "This is my present from Jacob. Come look; it's so amazing!"

I showed both my mom and my dad everything, including the picture I'd started. Mom seemed happy for me, but Dad was a little less enthusiastic.

"That looks like some expensive stuff," he said with a frown.

I shrugged. I wasn't going to let him make me feel bad for accepting the gift. "Yeah, it probably was." If Jacob didn't want to spend that much on me, he wouldn't have.

"Renesmee, listen to me. I know you like to draw. That's okay, but it's not going to get you anywhere in real life. You've got to start thinking about what you want to do after you graduate high school."

I wondered if now would be a good time to bring up the fact that I'd made over two hundred dollars in a month by selling copies of the eight drawings I'd posted on my website. Sure, it wouldn't be enough to support me, but I was just starting. I had so much more, and I could take requests for people and charge ten dollars or so a pop. I licked my lips for courage.

"Well, Dad . . . here's the thing. I know that drawing alone won't keep a roof over my head or food on the table." Who knew, maybe someday it would. "But I also know that I can make money with it. It's my passion; I love doing it, and I do it well. I'm not going to stop. When the time comes, I'll figure out something else to do on top of it."

Dad sighed. "Art like yours doesn't sell very well, honey."

I furrowed my brow. "What do you think the odds are of making enough for a small down payment on a car by the time I'm sixteen?"

He scoffed. "Nearly impossible. If that's what you're interested in, then get a job somewhere and save your paychecks."

I nodded. "Okay. I have a proposition for you then. I'll be sixteen in five months. If I can save up at least a thousand dollars by then from selling my art, then I want you to stop telling me I can't do it and it's a waste of time. You'll start acknowledging that art is a great thing to be into, and you'll support me with it. If I can't, then I'll put down the colored pencils and find something more worthwhile. Sound like a plan?"

He regarded me carefully for a moment. "You really think you can do that?"

I nodded. "Yes, I do. I've already made two hundred in the last month."

His eyes widened. "You have?"

I licked my lips again. "Yes, I have. I, um . . . Jacob helped me set up a website, and I've been selling copies of some of my drawings since just after Thanksgiving."

Mom looked so proud. She gave Dad a smug grin and came up to hug me. "That's my girl," she said with a tight squeeze.

Dad's eyebrows rose. "Wow."

"So do we have a deal?" I asked.

He took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes. We have a deal." I could see through his cracks. Deal or not, he was already impressed.

I went to my room a little later and finished my work in progress. I was too excited to sleep and spent a few hours just looking at everything Jacob had gotten for me. The pencils were so amazing. I'd always used the standard yellow pencils I had in school when I drew. The new ones were so smooth and addicting. I hoped I'd be able to make more than a thousand dollars by my birthday, because I knew I wasn't going to be able to go back to the mediocre supplies. I sketched a few more outlines including Queen Bee and Leah. I wanted to know what Leah would look like as royalty, so I drew it. As it turned out, she was made to wear a crown.

The more I thought about her, the more I thought she and Jacob looked good together. I drew another outline of them holding hands. It was already ten o'clock the next morning by the time I was hungry enough to put the pencil down.

I had four more pictures to add to my website by the time school started up again after the New Year. I was a little embarrassed to show Jacob the one of him and Leah, but I was still proud of it. He laughed at the one with her as a real queen.

"Leah will like this one, I'm sure." He copied both of them. "You know, now that you're running your business, I kind of feel like I'm robbing you when I get mine for free."

I shook my head. There was no way I was going to let him pay me. "Consider yourself a business partner. You will not buy anything. If you want it, you copy it. That's all there is to it."

He chuckled. "Okay."

"So how is Leah doing anyway?"

He shrugged as I added the new ones to the site. "She's all right, I guess. Why?"

"I don't know. Have you ever thought about asking her out?" I kind of expected him to laugh at me or make some joke, but he didn't. He was surprisingly quiet. I looked up at him, and I swear he was blushing. "Is she your girlfriend now?" The thought was so exciting.

"No, she's not. But I have thought about asking her out." He sat down on the arm of the couch, and for half a second I could kind of see how he might have looked as an awkward teenager wondering if the girl he liked would say yes or spit in his eye.

"She'd say yes," I told him. "Especially if you show her how good you guys look together in this picture." I brandished the drawing, just in case he didn't know which one I meant.

"I'll consider that. How's school going?"

I smirked. "It's going really good, actually. I get asked about my art all the time. Natalee's the only one who seems sore about it. The guys just think it's funny." Natalee—the Queen Bee—had been really mad at first and seemed to want to take me down, but for the first time since I could remember, she didn't have any followers to back her up.

"That's good. Have you had any requests to draw someone?"

"No, not yet. I kind of thought about putting something on the site about that, though. What do you think?"

He pursed his lips. "Well, you've got people outside of your school buying, too. It's not just other students. I think if you wanted to do that, you should put in a form and specify that you can only do people from this city and any other rules you have. I would suggest, though, that you start small. Maybe put up flyers at school."

"Why? Don't I want to get up as much of a customer base as I can?" It didn't make sense to limit myself.

"Yes, but you have to remember that high school is your main priority right now. You can't turn this into a full-time job yet. Would you do me a favor, too?" I nodded. "Would you make sure that someone else is with you when you take a request? Not just a friend, I mean like me or your parents or something. Even if it's from someone from school, there are some weird people out there. Do that for me?"

That was an easy promise to make. I wasn't comfortable with the idea of sitting down alone with someone I didn't know very well anyway. "I'll do that for you." Besides, it made me happy to know he was looking out for me.

The requests turned out to be a great idea. I just did flyers around the school with the stipulation that I would only do them on Saturday and it had to be scheduled a week in advance. I started out doing them at Jacob's, and I wanted to be able to make sure he didn't have other plans and that I wasn't intruding by taking all my supplies and drawing people on his recliner. I talked it over with my parents, and Mom was more than happy to sit in with me on the days that Jacob had other things to do. He confessed to me one day that he had worked up the gumption to ask Leah out, and of course she said yes. I was so happy for him; I just knew they'd make a fantastic couple.

With the requests and increased activity on the website, I met my goal of saving up a thousand dollars by March. I could hardly believe it! Dad gave in easily and kept his side of the deal. Of course he made it a stipulation that high school be the priority, and I made sure I let him know that Jacob had already beat him to that one. He seemed happy to know that Jacob remembered I was still in school.

Mom and Dad seemed to be over their issues. They hadn't had a real fight since before Christmas. They still argued from time to time, but of course I knew that was normal. It was so much easier to do everything I needed to do for school and still have enough time to do what I wanted with my art. Both my parents and Jacob took me on a special shopping trip to Michael's to celebrate meeting my goal, and I splurged on an easel, a stool, and some really nice, large drawing paper. I was a little surprised at myself for spending over two hundred dollars, but it was so worth it. I used the easel when I did requests, and I was able to charge a little bit more for those that wanted their picture done on the big paper.

It was amazing to me how money changed a lot of things at school. People were nicer to me, and some who had been downright nasty suddenly wanted to be my friend. Natalee was one of them. I knew who my true friends were, though. I was never rude to anyone, but I didn't buy into their crap, either. Jacob was proud of me.

"I would have caved, you know," he told me one evening. "If I was given a chance at hanging with the popular crowd in high school, I would have taken in it a heartbeat. I'm glad you're not like that."

I beamed. "How could I be like that? All they want is my money now that I'm rolling in the dough." I saw through their petty lies easily. Why else would they want to be around me when they wanted nothing to do with me not even a year earlier? My real friends, especially Griffin, stood by me through thick and thin. I was happy to know that my success meant they had an easier time as well. I never turned my back on them, and it seemed the other students treated them better.

By the time my birthday rolled around, I had saved up enough money to buy a cheap car outright. I wasn't sure I wanted to do that, though. I wanted my first one to be memorable. I talked to my parents and Jacob a lot about it and finally decided to wait until after graduation when I could have my driver's license and actually drive the car I bought.

It was the middle of May when I started getting requests to go to prom. I wasn't even sure I was allowed to go, but everyone assured me that I could if I was going with a junior or a senior. There wasn't really anyone that I wanted to go with, though, so I declined the offers. It felt good to have them, though. Griffin was asked as well, and she ended up going with one of the senior football players named Mike. He was a good guy, and I was excited to be able to help her do her hair and makeup.

Graduating tenth grade was a pretty simple affair. I'd made it through the year at the top of my class and attended the party the school threw for everyone. It was really strange how many people wanted to talk to me without making fun of something about me. I still stuck mostly to my friends, although my yearbook got more signatures than I ever thought it would.

After the school party, my family had a huge dinner to celebrate. Everyone was there, including Jacob and his friends. He was almost always near Leah, and a few times I caught him holding her hand. It was so nice having everyone there, even if it was a little crammed in my apartment.

Two weeks after school ended, I bought my first car. I went shopping with my dad, and after a lot of discussion I decided to finance and get something good. Dad said not only would that get me a better car, but it would allow me to start establishing some credit. After four car dealers, I finally decided on a powder blue 2003 Toyota Carolla. The asking price was ten thousand dollars, and I was able to put a three thousand dollar down payment on it. Dad co-signed for me and made the deal that he would pay one-third of the payment until I graduated from high school. I was happy with that arrangement and drove home separately.

With school out of the way for the summer, I had a lot more freedom to do pretty much anything I wanted. I wanted to work on my art more and get a feel for what it would be like to really have drawing be my job. I took more requests and put a form on my website after talking it over with my parents and Jacob. He really had become like a business partner. It was all because of him that I was even where I was; if he hadn't given me the idea, I couldn't say that I'd have ever thought of it. At least not before I was completely done with high school. My mom became something of a secretary for me; she helped me keep track of my appointments, my drawings, and my money. I made sure I still had time for myself and my family.

With all of my new income, I couldn't horde it all and not help out around the house. Dad insisted that I couldn't pay for anything like rent, food, or basic utilities, so I got creative and presented him with the idea that I pay for the cable and internet, at least while school was out and I could do more. He agreed, and I felt so much better knowing that Dad didn't have to do it all. On top of that, I bought the things we only needed occasionally like clothing, dish soap, laundry detergent, and other household items that weren't bought on a regular basis.

I was not ready to go back to school when the summer ended. It was nice knowing that I wouldn't have to put up with as much social crap as before, though. Mom went shopping with me for school clothes and other supplies. I still kept mostly to my real friends. I was sad to have to disable the form on my website for requests, but of course school had to be the top of my concentration again.

The weeks passed as they usually did. I wasn't sure if this bliss would last forever, but for now, my life was good. I loved who I was, what I did, all of my friends, and it just couldn't get any better than that. I started to think about what I wanted to do after I was all done with school. It was weird to think I only had two more years left. I decided that could wait a while. The future was the future, and all I needed to was concentrate on the present.

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><p>AN: Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts :)

Now for some shameless self-promotion – Give Me a Sign has been nominated for an Emerging Swan award for Best Romance! Voting starts August 30th and will go to September 5th. Vote, spread the word, and give J/N some love!


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